Natural infochemical DMSP stimulates the transfer of microplastics from freshwater zooplankton to fish: An olfactory trap

Abstract

Natural infochemicals may largely affect the trophic transfer of microplastics (MPs) in ecosystems but such infochemical effect and mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, a daphnids-zebrafish freshwater microcosm was designed to elucidate whether and how an algae-derived infochemical, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), affects the ingestion and transfer of MPs. Daphnids fast accumulated DMSP and MPs from water, and DMSP in daphnids was mainly enriched from the DMSP in water but not from MPs. DMSP did not change the MP ingestion by daphnids. A low concentration of DMSP (0.5 nM) increased predation of daphnids by zebrafish, while high concentrations of DMSP (50, 100 and 200 nM) did not increase predation rates. The concentration of DMSP in daphnids and the MP predation by zebrafish showed a unimodal relationship. The predation for MP by zebrafish in the 0.5 and 5 nM DMSP treatments was 1.89 and 1.56 times that of the control, respectively. The concentrations of DMSP in freshwater samples were lower than 50 nM. This suggests DMSP at environmentally relevant concentrations may promote the trophic transfer of MPs in freshwater ecosystems via olfactory traps.